DAIRY AND SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. 



287 



There is less likelihood of a conflict between oat harvesting and 

 potato digging and it also brings the harvest at a time when the 

 weather is usually more settled. 



Finally we have the Senator oat which on the average has 

 been our poorest yielding variety. This is a horse-mane oat 

 of a very pretty type. It has very heavy straw and broad 

 leaves and very large heads. The grains are very large and 

 plump. In the field it is usually picked as a winning variety 

 but the threshing test is always disappointing. The reason 

 is that it does not stool sufficiently. A heavier seeding will 

 remedy this to some extent. The Senator should be seeded 

 with three and one-half to four bushels to the acre. 



Of the remaining varieties there are nine that have been 

 tested for three years. The three year average and the yield in 

 1914 of each is shown in the chart (Table 2). 



Table 2. 



Varieties Tested for j Years. Yield in Bushels Per Acre. 



Variety 



3 year 

 average 



1914 

 jneld 



Early Pearl 



Minnesota No. 26. . . 



Gold Rain 



Siberian 



White Plume 



Abundance 



American Clydesdale 



Rebred 60-day 



Daubeney 



Average 



98.1 

 105.5 

 98.8 

 80.0 

 93.3 

 76.0 

 77.4 

 81.2 

 81.6 



88.0 



It is seen here that the Early Pearl leads the list with an 

 average for the three years of over yy bushels per acre. As you 

 all know, no doubt, this variety was bred by our vice-president, 

 Mr. Copeland. It is a very excellent oat and one of the most 

 promising varieties that we have yet tested. In one respect it 

 is misnamed for it is not an early oat. It requires at High- 

 moor io8 to no days to mature, a longer period than any 

 variety in our test except the Siberian. This is not a bad fault 

 in our climate, however. It is an excellent oat for central and 

 southern Maine. 



